Knowledge to Grow: Using native plants in the garden

Friday

Jul 18, 2014 at 12:00 PM

Plants that have lived naturally in our area for hundreds of years are adapted to our climate and landscape.

By Karen Weiland

Plants that have lived naturally in our area for hundreds of years are adapted to our climate and landscape. These plants are called natives and have existed so long because of a complex set of checks and balances in our ecosystem.Some of the plants we see in our landscapes are brought in from other areas where there are natural controls to keep them inbounds. When they are transplanted in our area, with no natural controls, they have a tendency to romp through our woodlands, shading and thus choking out our native plants. By planting natives in our gardens and landscapes, we can help to protect and restore the habitats that are lost to human development.Gardening with native plants is easier because they are not finicky about growing here. They do not need excessive watering or fertilization and they add to the resources that support our wildlife, such as no milkweed equals no monarch butterflies. Using natives to plant a rain garden enables rain water to percolate safely into the soil rather than running into rivers and streams and taking with it whatever pollutants in comes across on its way.There are lists of well beSun-loving native flowers include yellow coneflower, black-eyed susan, dense blazing star and obedient plant. Serviceberry , black chokeberry and nannyberry are a few native bushes that can be used for bird habitats. They offer dense cover for shelter and berries to feed our feathered friends. If you want some fall color in your garden plant, try spicebush, winged sumac or arrowwood viburnum.To bring some winter interest to the landscape, natives you can use include sideoats gramma, northern sea oats and winterberry.By the way, I recently saw some Monarch butterflies flitting about the milkweed in my garden last week … love it! Go ahead and tuck some natives into your landscape and garden and make a bug happy.As always, happy gardening!

Karen Weiland is a master gardener at Purdue Extension in LaGrange County, Ind.